By Srinjay Chakravarti

" - Open the balcony window.
The hour of illusion draws near...
The afternoon has gone to sleep,
and the bells dream." -Antonio Machado

As dusk deepens, the world
goes slowly out of focus.
The edges of everyday things go soft.
The sweeping arrival of darkness,
and light loses
its clear hard grip on ourselves.
Even sounds become blurred,
conjuring echoes and distances
out of familiar surroundings.
Shadows whisper to each other
just beyond the corners.

This will not last, this hour
of illusion. But its evanescent flavour
is worth all the geometrized spaces
of the cruel day.